


The Welcome Wagon

by persephoneggsy



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), Marvel
Genre: Amora is kind of a bitch, Best Friends, Crushes, F/F, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Humor, Jealous Steve, M/M, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Protective Janet, Tony and Janet are the Welcoming Committee, Tony's Gauntlet is a Prosthetic Hand, Tony's Hot Tub, and also BFFs, honestly their friendship means everything to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7748467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephoneggsy/pseuds/persephoneggsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or: Five Times Tony and Janet Welcomed Somebody to the Academy, and One Time Jan Did it With Someone Else</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Natasha Romanov

**Author's Note:**

> i'm trash for this game

* * *

 

 

Janet had summoned Tony to the Quad with a text message. Which, in and of itself, wasn’t really unusual; in fact, for the shrinking fashionista-turned-superhero, it was her most common form of communication. So Tony showed up at the time she specified, sitting idly on one of the stone benches by the Mission Board, waiting for an appearance by his favorite Avengers Academy student (second only to himself, of course).

Five minutes after their agreed meeting time, Tony was practically shoved off of the bench when a powerful force (which felt to be about the size of his fist) slammed into his back and sent him sprawling onto the ground. He didn’t have a lot of time to think about what had just happened, because the ‘powerful force’ was now full-sized and speaking at a rapid-fire pace.

“ _Tony!_ Oh my God, are you okay? I totally wasn’t looking where I was going! Are you hurt? Are you mad? ‘Cause I know Fury scolded me and everything for watching where I’m flying, but I just got so excited, I wasn’t paying attention, and _oh,_ you don’t think he’ll find out, do you? What am I saying, it’s Fury, of course he’ll find out, he’s a spy, duh – !”

“ _Jan,”_ Tony quickly sat up and held out a hand, ceasing her chatter. She blinked down at him, her expression suddenly curious.

“Wait… What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were gonna try and talk to Pepper about building that hot tub on the Tower?”

As she spoke, she held out a hand, which Tony took gratefully, and pulled the young genius off of the ground and to his feet. Tony dusted down his pants and raised an eyebrow at her, pulling his phone from his pocket and showing her his messages.

“You texted me. Said something about some ‘big news’ happening at the front gate, and you asked me to meet you here. Also, by the way, the hot tub is halfway done. Just don’t tell Pepper yet.”

Janet blinked adorably at the phone. “Oh _yeah.”_

He put his phone away with a half-smile. “So, what’s the ‘big news’?”

Immediately, Jan snapped up, her infectious grin back on her face. “Oh! Tony, guess what the Academy is getting today!”

Tony tilted his head to the side, making a show of thinking about it, even though he knew Jan was going to blurt the answer before he so much as opened his mouth.

“A new student!” blurted Jan.

Tony frowned. “A new… student? That’s it?” As far as ‘big news’ went, it was considerably low on the ladder. They were a relatively new school, after all. They’d been getting batches of new students every week or so. None of them were quite as awesome as Tony or Janet, of course, so Tony hadn’t really bothered to get to know them.

Undeterred, however, Jan began pushing him towards the front gate. “Not just _any_ new student! We’re going to be attending classes with…” She paused for dramatic effect. “ _The_ Black Widow!”

Tony blinked. The name sounded familiar to him, but nothing was coming up. He turned his head back to Janet with a half-unimpressed, half-confused look. She rolled her eyes.

“Russian super-spy, deadly assassin? Knows 32 different ways to break a man’s neck?”

Tony continued looking at her.

Janet pursed her lips. “She did some modeling in Tokyo?”

Recognition lit up Tony’s face faster than any electronic he’d built on campus. “Natasha Romanov, right?”

Janet repressed a laugh and continued pushing towards the front gate. “Yeah, her.”

“She’s coming to our school? _Why?”_

“Apparently Fury thinks she could be an asset? I dunno, I heard this all from Pepper just over an hour ago. She’s already done all the paperwork, but Pepper’s busy, so she asked me to give her a tour of the school!”

“Cool,” said Tony. “And I’m here because…?”

“Russian super-spy-assassin- _model,_ Tony,” replied Janet, her face completely serious.

Tony grinned at her. “This is why you’re my best friend, Jan.”

“I know. But don’t make an idiot out of yourself, okay? I wanna make a good first impression.”

 

* * *

 

They found Natasha Romanov waiting by the front gate by the time they arrived. And it had to be her – she looked to be every inch the deadly secret agent/assassin her reports made her out to be. She stood like she was ready to strike, and her eyes darted around the area suspiciously, like she was searching for something. Her piercing gaze settled on Janet and Tony as they approached. If anything, Janet’s smile only got wider; she was every bit as pretty as the stories said.

“Hi!” she greeted, waving boisterously at the new student. Tony gave a little wave and smirk of his own, and Natasha seemed to relax marginally, but her face still bore signs of suspicion. “Natasha Romanov, a.k.a. the Black Widow?”

Natasha nodded once. “That’s me. And you are?”

“I’m Janet van Dyne, or the Wasp, or just Jan, I’m not really choosy.” Janet sent Natasha another dazzling grin before turning to Tony. “And this is - !”

Tony stepped in front before she could finish. “Tony Stark. Otherwise known as Iron Man. You might have heard of me.” He bowed (actually _bowed,_ oh my god), and gave her his best charmer smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

To her credit, though, Natasha only raised an eyebrow. “I have heard of you. Both of you.” Her gaze turned assessing as she focused on Tony, who seemed to shrink back a bit under her icy blue eyes. “Textbook narcissist, obviously hiding deep-seated insecurities, definite daddy issues, and the big personality possibly overcompensates for feelings of inadequacy.”

Tony jerked, startled, as his eyes grew wide with surprise – and hurt. “What?”

“And you,” Natasha turned to Janet, who actually squeaked with fear. “Hyper and overactive with headstrong tendencies, and easily distracted, but on the whole, a team player.”

“Uh… thank you?” Janet replied, a little lost.

Natasha’s lips quirked up in a small smile. She nodded at them both and stepped forwards. “Alright, let’s get this tour over with.” She began moving towards the school, but Janet stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Wait,” she said, voice oddly low. Natasha stared at her, then at the hand on her arm, and then back at Janet. Tony, too, was looking at his best friend with curiosity. “Before we start, you have to apologize to Tony.”

There was a beat of silence. Then, “What?” came from Natasha’s lips.

“What you said? It was really, really mean. I don’t care if you are some super spy-slash-crazy-psychologist, you can’t just say things like that to people you’ve just met.”

Tony seemed to snap out of his surprise first. He held out his hands in a placating gesture and smiled at Janet.

“Hey, Jan, I’m okay. Really.”

Janet turned to look at him, obviously upset. “But Tony - !”

“ _Jan._ Come on, you know it’s not the worst anybody’s ever said about me. Remember that article in _Futura_ last month?”

“ _Yes,_ and I sent whoever wrote that piece of trash a _very_ strongly-worded text,” huffed Janet. “That doesn’t make what _she_ said any less mean!”

Tony shrugged. “Relax, I’ve got thick skin. Literally. I wear 30% of my armor all the time.” He smiled, either at his own little joke, or Janet’s protectiveness, or both. “Besides, we’re burning daylight here. Tasha’s probably going to have to move her stuff into her dorm later, right?” He looked at Natasha.

The spy was frowning. “Don’t call me Tasha,” she said, but it lacked any edge, and if anything, she seemed confused by Tony’s refusal to ask for an apology.

Janet puffed out her cheeks, but let the subject drop. “Fine. Come on.” She trudged back towards the school, arms crossed and definitely still upset. Both Natasha and Tony watched her go, but when the spy looked back to Tony, he only shrugged again and set off after her. Natasha stood back, her face thoughtful.

At least, it was, until Tony startled her out of her thoughts.

“You coming?” he called out.

She hesitated for a moment before willing her feet to move after them.

 

* * *

 

It was… awkward.

There was no other word for it. Janet, bright, happy, bubbly Janet, was grumpy the entire tour. So it fell to Tony to actually _give_ the tour, and talk about the various facilities that the Academy offered, but Tony as a tour guide was more or less him talking about all the “cool upgrades” he gave to certain buildings, and less about what the buildings were actually for. Luckily, Natasha was smart enough to figure most of that out on her own. She seemed especially interested in the timefog surrounding the campus, but other than that, the spy was distracted for most of the tour.

They concluded at the girls’ dormitories, with Jan still scowling unhappily and Natasha still wearing that pensive look on her face.

“So, regreattably, this is where I leave you,” said Tony, with a dramatic sigh. “That concludes the Official Tony Stark Tour, don’t forget to leave a good review online.” His trademark smile came back to his face, though. “Just remember, my hot tub’s always open. When it’s done, of course.”

Janet tried desperately not to smile, but Natasha, surprisingly, sent Tony a smirk.

“In your dreams, Stark.”

“I’m counting on it,” he said, barely reacting. He bowed again, and turned to leave.

“Wait, Stark.”

Tony froze, as did Janet, and they both turned to look at Natasha, who rolled her shoulders once before continued.

“I’m sorry. About what I said. You know, earlier.” Natasha’s face was impassive, but there was a small tremor in her voice that betrayed her.

Tony stared. “I… Uh.”

Janet, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to explode from happiness.

“My handler was getting on my case about my thing with… ‘teamwork’,” Natasha explained quickly. “I’m used to working alone. Seeing people as either targets or assets. But you’re… You’re going to be my teammate. I shouldn’t have said those things. So. Sorry.”

Tony blinked a few times, before a small smile stretched over his lips. He waved a hand dismissively. “Water under the bridge. Tasha.”

Natasha smiled, too. “I told you not to call me that.”

“It’s either that or Nat.”

The spy paused. “Fine.”

Tony smiled again, wider this time, and turned to leave, waving goodbye to the girls over his shoulder. “See you ladies tomorrow, then!”

Jan waved back, her spirits back and as high as ever. “Bye Tony! Don’t forget about Professor Pym’s lab assignment!” She grinned as Tony grunted back a vague reply, and then she spun on her heel to address Natasha. The spy was smiling, too, but hers a bit more guarded than it had been a few moments ago.

“Thanks for that,” Jan said softly. “I know he acts all big and macho, but he’s really sensitive.”

Natasha tilted her head to the side. “I’m going to have to update my files on him.”

“Yeah? To what?” she asked, cautious.

“Still narcissistic and insecure, but also self-deprecating and surprisingly… friendly.”

Janet laughed, and without further preamble, swept Natasha up in a hug. The spy startled, freezing up in Janet’s surprisingly tight grip, before Janet let out a giggle and she let herself relax.

“You and I are going to be great friends,” sighed Jan.

“I’d like that,” replied Natasha. “… Now can you let go of me?”

“Shhh. Just let the warm feeling of friendship wash over you.”


	2. Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we recruit Loki before Natasha, but I kinda forgot about that and I already planned out the story so. Yeah. Just ignore it.

* * *

 

It was another few weeks until they got another new student, and this time, Pepper texted _Tony_ about it first. Apparently, she was going to be swamped with paperwork for the next few days, and it would really help her out if Tony and Janet could give another tour.

‘ _Not that I’m not flattered, but why didn’t you text Jan about this first?’_ Tony replied.

_‘I was going to, but then I remembered that Jan is on a date. With Natasha. Who has a very strict no-texting-on-dates rule.’_

_‘Wait, what? Jan and Tasha? Since when??’_

_‘IDK, she’s your best friend. Ask her yourself. Anyway, the new student shows up tomorrow, at noon. He’ll be arriving with his dad, Odin, at the front gate.’_

_‘Odin is his dad? Omg, are we getting Thor?!’_

_‘Calm down. And no. It’s his other son, Loki.’_

_‘Alright, alright. You owe me, though.’_

_‘Depends on what you want.’_

_‘Hot tub?’_

_‘I know for a fact that you already started building that without my permission. But do this, and maybe Fury won’t find out about it for another… let’s say, a week.’_

_‘Make it two and you’ve got a deal.’_

So anyway, that was how Tony found himself at the front gates once more, this time waiting for Janet to show up before the new student (and his dad) to arrive. Luckily, Janet flew in just a few minutes after Tony, and she was grinning as brightly as ever – brighter, even. Tony didn’t have to be a genius to figure out why.

“So,” he started, leaning against the gate. “You and Tasha. Were you going to tell me, or…?”

Janet looked stunned, then panicked, then guilty, all in the span of about four seconds. “How did you know?” she asked sheepishly.

“Pepper. Apparently she had to contact me instead of you because Tasha has a weird no-phone rule or something.”

Janet nodded. “Yeah. She doesn’t like selfies, either. Even though I tell her she looks gorgeous in them…”

“I’m just saying, I’m a little hurt. We’re best friends, Jan, and I had to find out from _Pepper_ that you got a girlfriend?”

“We’re not…” Jan deflated. “I don’t know if we’re _that_ yet. Tasha is great and amazing and beautiful, but she’s still really intimidating and… I dunno, hard to read? I guess?”

“She _is_ a spy.”

“Yeah. So, I’m not sure what she thinks of our relationship.”

Tony considered this for a moment. “Kay, so this is usually what you say to me, so this is weird, but… Why don’t you just talk to her? Ask her?”

“We’ve only been on a couple of dates,” she said shyly. “I don’t think we’re ready for that talk yet.”

Tony stared at her. “Oh my god.”

“What?”

“You really like her, don’t you?”

“Well…” Jan shrugged, with a little smile playing on her lips.

Tony laughed. “I don’t know whether I should cry or hug you right now.”

“I’d take both, Tony,” she said seriously. “Don’t hold out on me.”

“You get your hug when I hear Tasha call you her girlfriend.”

“You monster.”

“You love me.”

Their banter continued on for a few minutes, until their new student finally arrived. And by ‘arrived’, naturally, that meant showing up in a multi-colored beam of light shooting down from the sky and nearly blinding them both.

When Tony and Janet recovered, they saw two figures standing where the beam of light had been. One was an older man, who wore a golden helmet with horns and had a long, white beard. He was vaguely familiar to the two students, as they’d seen him on campus before, usually with Nick Fury, but the figure by his side was a complete stranger.

He was closer to their age, it seemed, and he wore a green coat and a sneer as he caught sight of them. He must have been Loki.

“Ah!” The older man, Odin, bellowed as he saw them. “Anthony and Janet, yes?” He clapped Loki on the back, which made the young man stumble forwards a bit. “Meet my son, Loki!”

“Adopted son,” Loki murmured, under his breath but not really, as Tony and Janet could clearly hear him. Odin, it seemed, either didn’t, or he just ignored it.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jan said, cutting off the potential awkward situation. “Like Odin said, I’m Janet van Dyne, and this is Anthony – but he prefers Tony – Stark! Welcome to Avengers Academy!”

She sent him a dazzling grin, but Loki’s sneer only deepened. “Ah, yes. The Armor Man and Bug Woman.”

“Loki,” Odin said, disapprovingly. “Those are not their proper titles.”

Loki shrugged. “I can handle the rest from here, _Father._ Why don’t you go back to Asgard and stop Thor from hurting himself with his bullheaded antics?”

Odin opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. “Very well, son. If you require anything – !”

“I will not.”

“… Then simply call for me. I will not make you wait.”

Loki turned away from his dad, and Odin sighed. He nodded towards Janet and Tony and then seconds later, a flash of light appeared, and he was gone, presumably back to his kingdom. This left the three students in a very awkward silence.

“So… Tour?” suggested Tony.

Loki rolled his eyes. “If you insist.”

Janet nodded. “Great. Right. Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Throughout the tour, Loki was acting perpetually unimpressed, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he was constantly brushing off Tony and Janet’s attempts at conversation. It was getting to the point that _Janet_ was getting discouraged, and Tony couldn’t have that.

“So, Loki,” he began. The demigod didn’t even look at him. “Aside from being an ass, what do you like to do for fun?”

That got Loki to glare at him, which Tony would count as a win. “Excuse me?”

“You know, fun? That thing normal people have?”

“I am hardly a normal Midgardian,” snapped Loki. “I’d advise you to watch your tongue.”

“Telling people to watch their tongues doesn’t seem like much fun,” piped in Janet. “How about dancing?”

“I - … What?” Loki gave her a flat look, and she grabbed him by the arm with a grin.

“Oooh, we have to go to Club A next. Tony?”

The genius smiled. “Sure. Let’s see if Asgardians have any moves.”

Loki sputtered indignantly as they hauled him off towards Club A, but by the time they arrived, he’d been reduced to merely pouting. When faced with the bright lights, pounding music, and dancing students, however, the Asgardian became intrigued.

“Well?” Tony gestured to the club. “What do you think?”

“What is the purpose of this establishment?” asked Loki, though not unkindly.

“You dance,” answered Janet. “Have fun, mingle. We just got a pool table. And you can get drinks, but only as long as you swear to never tell Fury.”

“Although we’re pretty sure he knows,” finished Tony.

Loki hummed, his eyes drawn to the dance floor. Tony nudged him with his elbow.

“Wanna dance?”

Loki’s head whipped to stare at him. “I beg your pardon?” he asked shrilly, cheeks turning pink. Janet snapped a picture with her phone, which the demigod luckily didn’t notice.

Tony grinned. “This is the first place you haven’t scoffed at during the tour, I think you’re interested in trying it out. So. Wanna dance?”

“W-With… With _you?”_

Tony glanced back at the dancefloor, which was crowded, but not unbearably so. “I mean, yeah, if you want. Not a lot of room for anything more than grinding though, but I’m game if you are.” He sent Loki a flirty wink, and the demigod’s face became an impressive shade of red. Janet was now recording all this on her phone.

“I…”

“That is, unless you’re chicken?” teased Tony.

Loki immediately puffed out his chest. “How dare you insinuate such a thing! Very well, Armor Man. I shall take you up on your challenge.”

“Wasn’t really a challenge, but okay. Let’s go. Jan?”

Jan shook her head. “I can see Natasha; I’ll just go talk to her.” She gestured towards the crowd, and Tony followed her pointing until he saw Natasha crouching stealthily near the dancefloor, some kind of listening device in her hands. Up to her usual, then.

He nodded. “Have fun.”

“You too!” Jan waved goodbye as she disappeared off into the crowd.

Tony turned back to Loki. “Shall we?”

 

* * *

 

“I think Loki likes you,” said Janet, much later, when it was well-past curfew and students were leaving the club. She and Tony were walking back to the Tower, where Jan would probably crash for the night. Loki, after a few close-encounter dances with Tony, had suddenly bolted from Club A, claiming to be tired, and made a mad dash in the direction of the boys’ dormitories. Tony had shrugged off his odd behavior and gone to dance with Janet and Natasha, who’d been dragged unwillingly to the floor, but was at least making an effort for Jan.

Also, Natasha had called Janet her girlfriend. So Tony now owed Jan both tears and a hug, which he promised to deliver later. He wasn’t much in a crying mood tonight.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. He’s alright.”

“He reminds me of you, a little.”

“Not nearly as handsome, though.”

“Nah.” Jan bumped her shoulder against his. “But really, he might have a crush on you.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised. It is _me_ we’re talking about.”

Jan rolled her eyes, but her expression was as fond as ever. “Do you like him?”

Tony shrugged. “Like I said, he’s alright. Might invite him up to the hot tub when it’s done.”

“Ooh,” Jan looped her arm around Tony’s, “a hot tub date. Practically an offer of marriage.”

“Please. I’m saving myself for marriage.”

The fashionista snorted. “Yeah, right! For who?”

Tony sniffed, just barely fighting off a smile. “Captain America.”

Janet burst into giggles. Of course; Tony’s childhood crush.

“I’m being serious!” protested Tony, with a totally-not-serious face. “I’m going to invent a time machine, go to the 40s, then seduce the good Captain with my irresistible charms! He’ll be totally smitten and have no choice but to marry me!”

“And you’ll totally wreck the past, but that’s okay,” said Janet, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, that’d piss your dad off so much.”

“All the more reason to do it,” Tony nodded wisely. “I’ll even let you plan the wedding.”

“You’d better. Can I walk you down the aisle?”

“Rhodey called dibs on that. And best man. But you can have complete control over the playlist at the reception.”

“Deal.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to imagine Stark Tower is where Tony dorms, bc he’s too cool to stay in the normal dormitories. And Jan is one of a special few who gets to crash there whenever she wants.


	3. Amora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... do not like Enchantress.

* * *

 

 

Tony and Janet were now, unofficially, the Avengers Academy ‘Welcome Wagon’. Fury had actually been impressed with how they’d handled welcoming Natasha, and later Loki, so he told Pepper that if she wanted to delegate her tour-giving duties to them, then she was welcome to do so. Pepper, of course, was grateful for the reduction in her workload, and Jan and Tony were happy to help her out. Also, occasionally, welcoming new students would get them out of classes, and they weren’t going to say no to that.

So over a few weeks, they’d shown a myriad of new students around the school. For starters, there was Sam Wilson, a.k.a. the Falcon, who was very easy to get along with, and Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, who was apparently an old friend of Natasha’s, so he and Jan hit it off amazingly. And there was even a younger student named Peter Parker, whose superhero moniker was ‘Spider-Man’, of all things, and Tony had taken him under his wing as his ‘science child’. Which Peter seemed confused about, but he wasn’t going to complain when Tony showed him the state-of-the-art lab at Stark Tower.

Pretty much all of the new students knew Tony and Janet as the faces of Avengers Academy, and they’d garnered quite a reputation. No matter what your power was or where you came from, Janet van Dyne and Tony Stark would be there at the front gates, welcoming you with open arms.

It was kind of a nice feeling, Tony thought privately.

An exchange student from Asgard was their newest assignment, so they hadn’t thought it strange to ask Loki if he knew anything about them. Which was why they were in the Timeless Archives, pretending to study, but really, gathering info.

“Her name’s Amora,” said Janet, squinting at the student file Pepper had provided for them. Attached was a picture of a pretty blonde girl, who was blowing a kiss towards the camera.

Loki stilled, his eyes going wide. The book he’d been levitating dropped to the ground with a heavy _thud._

“I’m… guessing you’ve heard of her?” Tony asked.

“Amora… The Enchantress,” growled Loki.

Janet shared a glance with Tony. “Uh, yeah. That’s what her alias is listed as. Who is she?”

Loki scooped up the book and replaced it on the shelf. “I suppose you could call her an… acquaintance of mine. From Asgard. We were often forced to be in the same room as one another as children, though her attention was focused solely on my brother and little else.” Loki scowled, as he often did whenever Thor came into the conversation, but luckily, he didn’t dwell on it long. “She’s also something of a sorceress, though not anywhere near as skilled as I am. Her specialty lies with manipulation and deceit.”

“Oh, yeah, nothing like you then,” giggled Janet, ignoring Loki’s baleful glare.

“She can’t be that bad,” said Tony, as he leaned over Janet to peer at Amora’s picture. “She’s hot.”

“Just cause someone’s hot doesn’t mean they’re not evil, Tony,” Janet said, in a tone of voice that suggested they’d had this conversation before. “I think Madame Hydra is hot, but I wouldn’t say she’s tragically misunderstood or anything.”

“I would advise you to be careful around Amora, Armor Man,” interrupted Loki. “I know how easily you give in to the wiles of pretty women. But she is dangerous and cruel. And not in the fun way.”

“Alright, alright.” Tony waved his hand. “I’ll keep that in mind. Seriously, you guys have no faith in me.”

“You hardly give us reason to,” retorted Loki.

“Fair enough. Anyway, come on Jan. The Sexy Sorceress is almost here.”

Loki scoffed in disgust, but waved the two of them off as they left the Archives.

When they got to the front gate, they found Amora already there, inspecting her fingernails with a prudish look. The photo really hadn’t done her justice, as she was twice as pretty in real life, though her expression could have used some work.

Still, Janet and Tony walked over to her, catching her attention.

“Hey there,” Tony all but purred. “You must be Amora, right? Tony Stark.”

Amora smiled coyly and held out her hand, which Tony immediately kissed. Janet resisted the urge to groan.

“Of course, the incredible Iron Man. I’ve definitely heard of you,” Amora purred right back. Janet could’ve sworn she’d seen a tinge of green in the air, but it was gone as soon as it appeared, and she decided not to comment on it in favor of introducing herself.

“And I’m Janet – !” she started, but Amora brushed past her without sparing a glance, and laced her arm through Tony’s.

“I’m so honored to be given a tour by the famous Tony Stark,” she smiled, eyes half-lidded in what looked to be practiced desire. “Shall we?”

Tony, to Janet’s surprise, actually blushed, and nodded dumbly as Amora began to tug him towards the school. Janet frowned after them. Something didn’t feel quite right… Perhaps she should have taken Loki a bit more seriously.

Shaking her head, she ran off to join them.

 

* * *

 

Something was _definitely_ not right.

Janet had known Tony for a long time. Since they were kids, in fact; they grew up in the same social circle. They had a shared love for science (and partying), and they were both outrageous flirts, so it wasn’t hard to see why they’d grown to be so close.

So, she knew him well enough to know when he was being off, and this? This was the most ‘off’ she’d ever seen Tony Stark.

When Tony flirted with people, he was usually pretty good (though, to be fair, he did practice pick-up lines for like, three hours a day). Sure, he could sometimes embarrass himself, but he always bounced right back, smooth as can be. But around _Amora?_ He was being downright _pathetic._

Janet wasn’t sure how she was doing it, probably magic or something, but Amora was definitely messing with Tony’s head. She had the genius hanging onto her every word, his expression love-struck, and when he talked to her, it was with all the reverence one would give to a goddess, with an added dose of saccharine for good measure.

It was ridiculous, it was gross, and most importantly, it wasn’t Janet’s best friend.

It fell to Janet to give the tour, though she doubted Amora listened to a word she was saying. The only things she seemed to be even a little interested in was the Asgardian Forge (which Odin had installed shortly after Loki came to the school), and Stark Tower’s hot-tub-in-progress.

“Darling, you’ll let me use your delightful invention whenever I please, yes?”

“Y-Yes, of course, Enchantress, whenever you want…” Tony repeated, smiling like a dope. Janet pursed her lips in an angry scowl and hurriedly moved the tour away from Stark Tower. The sooner they were done the better.

Finally, they wrapped things up at the girls’ dormitory, and Tony actually let out a _whine_ at the thought of being separated from Amora.

“Come on, Tony, you’ll thank me when we’re away from _her,”_ Janet insisted, but Tony stayed where he was, rooted by Amora’s side. Amora smirked.

“Don’t worry darling, we’ll be together again soon,” she murmured, tracing a finger along Tony’s jaw, making him shiver pleasantly.

“Promise?” he eagerly asked.

“Of course. Now, why don’t you give me a token of your appreciation as a sign of our love?”

Tony’s face lit up for a second, then dimmed again, as he became contemplative. “Like what?” he asked, almost nervously, and Janet wanted to smack either herself or Tony into the nearest wall. Or Amora. Preferably Amora.

Amora pondered for a moment, then pointed to Tony’s arm. “How about your gauntlet?”

Janet froze, as did Tony.

“My… gauntlet?” he repeated, voice quiet.

“Yes. Is there a problem, darling?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, as if daring him to deny her.

“N-No, of course not, but…”

“That’s not a gauntlet!” Janet all but screamed, getting up close to Amora, who did actually take a step back in surprise. “That’s - ! That’s none of your business, is what it is!”

“Janet!” Tony quickly got in between them and held them apart. He sent Janet a cold look before turning to Amora with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, Enchantress, but, well… It _isn’t_ actually a gauntlet.” At Amora’s confused frown, he elaborated. “It’s my hand. A prosthetic.” He wiggled his fingers on that hand, as if to explain further.

“Oh.” Amora blinked. “Well then. I’ll take that, instead.”

“What?!” Janet shouted. “Tony, come on, you can’t seriously be thinking - !”

“Jan,” Tony stopped her. “It’s fine.” He turned away from his sputtering best friend back to Amora, who was waiting expectantly.

“Well, darling?”

Tony stared at her, then his red mechanical hand, and shook his head. “No.”

Dumbly, Amora’s jaw dropped. “No?”

“No,” he repeated firmly. “I’m sorry, Enchantress, but I can’t give you that.”

“Surely you can just build another?” she scoffed.

“I could. But this is special to me. So no, you can’t have it.”

Tony blinked, once, then twice, and suddenly the love-struck expression was gone from his face. He looked around, confused, but Amora merely huffed and stomped away to her dorm, leaving Tony and Janet outside.

“What… What happened?” asked Tony.

Janet nearly cried, but instead settled for tackling Tony in a bear hug. “I’ll explain later. But from now on, we’re keeping you away from that girl. We’re going to act like she’s not even at the school. I’ll protect you, Tony.”

“… From who?”

“Exactly.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno, she just rubs me the wrong way. I mean, I get that she's the essential 'mean girl' character, but. Why she gotta mess with Tony so much. One of her actions is literally 'Hypnotize Iron Man'. Nu-uh. My bby ain't gonna put up with that here. 
> 
> (Cause Jan's gonna protect him. uwu)


	4. Steve Rogers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE COMES THE OTP

* * *

 

 

The campus was abuzz with excitement – and Jan would know. She’d been the one to send out the news via social media just a few days ago. The Academy was getting another new student – but that alone wasn’t the reason people were so keyed up.

No, it was because said new student just so happened to be Steve Rogers – a.k.a., the original Captain America.

Janet could hardly believe it herself when Fury had told her and Tony the news. Apparently, they’d found the Captain frozen in ice over a year ago, and after thawing him out and spending the last year getting him up to speed with the modern world, he was finally ready to join the school, which he’d been adamant on doing since he found out about Avengers Academy.

Fury had warned them to be on their best behavior, and make sure that Steve was comfortable at the school. Janet had given him a peppy salute and a ‘yessir!’, but Tony, oddly, had only nodded. He seemed withdrawn throughout the entire meeting, really.

Janet asked Tony about it as they walked to the front gate to meet Steve.

“You alright?” she asked, brows furrowed in concern. “I thought you’d be ecstatic. Childhood hero come back to life and all that.”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t like him _that_ much.”

“You said you were going to marry him. A few times, in fact.”

“One of those times I was just kidding, and for another I was drunk.”

“What about the first time?”

“I was _twelve._ You wanted to marry Audrey Hepburn back then,” he muttered mulishly.

“I still do, sweetie. And there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sure half the campus wants to marry Captain America.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t. Anymore.”

“Tony,” Janet stopped them in the quad. “What’s really wrong?”

Tony bit his lip, but in the face of Janet’s genuine concern, he didn’t stand a chance. He sighed and sank down onto a stone bench. Janet followed him, a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just... I said those things because I never thought… Captain America was _dead,_ as far as the world knew. And yet there was my dad, who spent so much of his damn time looking for him that…” Tony scrubbed a hand down his face. “When I was a kid, yeah, I wanted Captain America to come back because he was my hero. But when I got older, I just wanted him back so my dad would stop looking for him. Maybe he’d actually spend time with _me_ if…”

“Oh, Tony…” Jan burrowed herself closer to Tony.

He took a deep breath. “But then I realized that even if Cap came back into the picture, my dad would probably spend all his time with him, relieving the ‘glory days’ or showing off his accomplishments. So I forced myself to stop caring about him. It was easier that way, you know?”

“You still joked about marrying him, though,” Jan pointed out softly, and Tony gave her a small grin.

“Hey, the guy was – is, I guess – gorgeous. Can’t blame me for that.”

They both fell quiet after that. Then, after a minute or two, Jan spoke up.

“Tony, if you don’t want to do this…”

“No, no. I’m not gonna leave you to fend off Cap’s legion of fans just because of my daddy issues. Come on.”

He stood, and held out a hand to her. She smiled and took it, and they resumed their walk towards the front gate just like that.

 

* * *

 

Tony was right, unsurprisingly. There was a massive crowd consisting of most of the student body gathered at the front gate. Janet and Tony saw Natasha on the outskirts of the crowd, alongside Loki.

“Tasha!” Jan called out, summoning her girlfriend’s attention. She sauntered over to them and gave Jan a kiss on the cheek in greeting. Then she looked down at Tony and Janet’s intertwined hands and raised a brow.

“We had a Best Friend Moment,” explained Janet.

“Ah.” Natasha smiled, and left it at that.

“I don’t understand all this commotion over one Midgardian,” complained Loki, who had walked over to be with them. “It’s like Thor on Asgard all over again.”

“Captain America is a legend, Loki,” Tony replied. “Pretty much our first superhero. Honestly, I’m surprised the entire school isn’t here.”

“Near enough,” said Natasha. “And you know that the Captain is already at the front, right?”

“What?” Janet checked her phone with her free hand. “But he’s not due for another ten minutes!”

The spy shrugged. “He’s early.”

Tony groaned. “Of course he is. How long?”

Loki glanced out over the crowd. “He’s been signing autographs and taking pictures for about half an hour. Though, he doesn’t exactly look comfortable.”

“Right. Come on Jan, we’ve got a super soldier to rescue.”

“Aye aye,” Jan nodded.

They pushed their way through the crowd, with some difficulty (at least until Tony fired up his repulsor, and the sound of it made the students back off almost instantly), until they finally caught sight of Steve Rogers, smiling awkwardly for a selfie with Kamala and Sam.

Tony nearly froze on the spot. His old bedroom posters did not do the man justice. He was an _Adonis_ , tall and muscled, with blue eyes and blond hair fashioned into a modern cut, all rolled into one neat All-American package.

Janet had to pull his deadweight along until they were right in front of Steve, who had noticed them and was looking at them with a small amount of apprehension.

“Hi! Captain America! Or do you prefer Steve?”

“I, uh…” Steve straightened his back and seemed to compose himself before answering. “Steve is just fine, Miss.”

“Oh, please, call me Janet! Or Jan! Or Wasp! I’m still not choosy! Anyway, we’re the Welcome Wagon!”

She gestured to both her and Tony, who was still gaping at Steve like a fish, so she kicked her best friend in the leg to snap him out of it.

Tony startled, and shot her a glare, which she ignored.

“And this is Tony. He’s Iron Man. He’s also the Welcome Wagon.”

“Iron Man?” Steve seemed to recognize the name. “So, you’re Tony Stark?”

“Uh. Yeah.” Tony scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, his prosthetic one still in Janet’s grip. “Nice to meet you… Steve.”

Steve sent Tony a small smile, the most genuine Janet had seen on him so far. “You too.”

Janet looked between them and fought off a smile of her own. “Okay! So, are you ready to start your official tour of the school?”

“That’d be swell,” answered Steve, and Jan almost giggled, because ‘ _swell’._ “But, uh…” He looked out at the crowd of students, many of whom still had their phones and photos of Steve out.

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Tony waved his free hand dismissively. “Fury or Pepper will show up in a few minutes, make them go back to class. They can always catch you later.”

“Oh. If you say so.” Steve adjusted his backpack – or rather, what looked to be his shield, which was strapped to his back – and shot an apologetic look to the students. Several of them started to protest, when Fury’s unmistakable voice boomed across the campus.

“ _WHY ARE NONE OF YOU IN CLASS?”_

They had never seen a crowd of people run so fast.

 

* * *

 

Steve was easily the best person Janet and Tony had ever given the tour to. He listened attentively, and asked appropriate questions at the right times. And best of all, he hadn’t destroyed any school property, accidentally or otherwise!

Even Tony was slowly starting to relax around Steve, which was amazing, considering how stiff and awkward he’d been at the start.

“And this is Stark Tower!” Tony announced, spreading his arms with a theatrical flourish as they came to his pride and joy. “Visitors are welcome, and anybody is free to take from the cheese fridge – I keep it fully stocked.”

“Wow.” Steve looked up at the Tower, then back at Tony. “Did you build this?”

Tony nodded proudly. “I designed it, and helped build most of it. Oh, and I outfitted it with J.A.R.V.I.S., my A.I.”

“What an A.I.?” asked Steve.

“Artificial Intelligence,” answered Janet. “You’ll meet J.A.R.V.I.S. soon enough. He’s actually pretty funny, for something programmed by Tony.”

“Excuse you, I am _hilarious.”_

Steve smiled at Tony, that little smile again, then he looked back at the Tower. “This really is amazing, Tony. Bet Howard only dreamed he could build something like this back in our day, huh?”

Aaaaand there it was.

Tony stiffened, and Jan was close to slapping a hand across her face, as Steve looked between the two of them, his confused frown marring his otherwise perfect face.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

Surprisingly, it was Tony who recovered first. “No. I mean…” He sighed. “Alright, look, Cap.” He faced Steve head-on with a determined look. “Can we just get this out of the way? I’m not my dad.”

Steve blinked. “I never said you were.”

“Good. But my old man? Not a cool subject. Sorry if this rude or whatever, but I’m just giving you a fair warning. The only person allowed to hear my sob stories about my dad is Jan.” He jerked a thumb in Janet’s direction, and she nodded seriously. “So if that’s something you wanted from me, then I’m gonna have to disappoint you.”

Steve’s frown only deepened, though it wasn’t for the reason Jan and Tony thought.

“That’s not what I wanted at all. I mean, yes, he was my friend, but I know that time can change people. I… I read about him, after I woke up. I get it. If it’s a really sore topic for you, I won’t bring him up again.”

Tony and Janet both stared at him. They hadn’t expected him to be so… understanding. Though, to be fair, he did have a twisted-up, pained-looking frown on his face.

“… Alright.” Tony said, after a few seconds of silence had stretched between them. “I’m glad we got that out of the way.” He turned around. “Power Gym’s up next. I think you’ll really like that one.”

 

* * *

 

Steve _loved_ the Power Gym, no surprise there. After spending nearly an hour there, Janet and Tony had to promise Steve that he could come back once he was done unpacking his things, and the rest of the tour went off without a hitch. Well, sort of.

A few brave students did halt things a bit when they asked for a photo and an autograph, but the biggest delay came when a frantic-looking Peter Parker ran up to Tony, holding some kind of mechanical device in his hands, and sparks were shooting off of it in a way that was probably dangerous. Tony took one look at it and grabbed it, promising Janet and Steve that he would only be a few minutes.

That was thirty minutes ago.

Janet had grabbed her and Steve a coffee from the nearby cart, after Steve insisted that they wait for Tony to finish his business. They stood idly by as they watched Tony and Peter in the lab at Stark Tower, trying to fix the device and stop it from potentially exploding. It was something Jan had seen a thousand times before, so she whipped out her phone and started texting Natasha, but Steve seemed enthralled.

After a while, Janet nudged the blond with her elbow. “Take a picture, Cap, it’ll last longer,” she joked.

Steve jerked, and actually looked _guilty._ “I’m sorry - !”

“It’s fine,” she assured him, smiling in amusement. “Tony can be pretty magical when he’s in his element, right?”

They both looked back to Tony at the same time, and saw him chatting a mile a minute, listing out the parts and tools he needed, which wires needed reconfiguring, and which gears needed replacing. Peter was trading off his own input just as quickly, but Janet noticed that Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of Tony. Tony, whose eyes were bright as his brain worked out a problem, and who had a small smile on his lips even after the device gave off a small jet of flame and nearly seared his eyebrows off.

“I’ll say,” the American legend said under his breath. “He’s incredible.”

Janet smiled softly at him. “Hey, Cap?”

Steve looked at her (after a very visible effort to stop looking at Tony, she noted). “Yes, Janet?”

“About that thing earlier, with Tony’s dad. Just… thanks for being so understanding.”

Steve nodded. “Of course. I mean, I can’t say I’m not curious. But I’m not going to pry into anything if that’s not okay. Just because I’m from the past doesn’t mean I should go around dredging it up for everybody.”

Janet sighed contentedly. “Oh my god, you are actually perfect.”

The blond frowned. “I’m sorry?”

“Don’t be.”

“Well.” Steve finally returned his gaze to Tony, who had somehow acquired a stain of grease on his cheek during Steve and Janet’s little exchange. “In any case, Tony’s sure lucky to have a gal like you by his side.”

Jan snorted. “Damn right he is. I don’t let him forget it.”

He gave a smile, but it was smaller than before. “How long have you two been going steady?”

“How long – what?” Janet stared at him.

Steve stared back. “Aren’t you two…” He gestured vaguely. “Fondue-ing?”

“I don’t know what that means,” said Janet. “But if you’re asking whether or not me and Tony are a couple? The answer is no.”

“Oh.” That seemed to be a big revelation to Steve, so Janet gave him a few seconds to process before she prodded.

“You thought we were?”

“W-Well, you were holding hands earlier,” he said, somewhat defensively.

“That’s a best friends thing. Me and Tony pretty much grew up together. If we dated… Well, firstly, we’d be a gorgeous couple, but secondly, that’d be like dating my brother. So, no. Besides, I have a girlfriend.”

Steve’s eyes widened even further. “ _Oh.”_

Suddenly remembering that Steve was from the 40s, whose track record with sexualities other than _hetero_ was less than stellar, Jan narrowed her eyes. “That a problem?”

He held up his hands. “No! Of course not! I’m just… not used to people coming out and saying it, that’s all. If anything, it’s one thing about the future I definitely like.”

“Good.” Janet grinned. “Cause Tony flirts like a champ, and I want you to be prepared for that.”

To her delight, Steve flushed a dark pink. “Tony likes guys?”

“Tony likes both guys and girls. Bisexual, Cap. I’m pansexual, just for future reference. Pan-Jan, that was Tony’s nickname for me for like, a week after I told him.”

Steve nodded slowly, taking all the information in. “That’s… That’s good to know.”

Unfortunately for Janet, who wanted to needle him a bit more, Tony came jogging up to them, grinning like a madman, and his face a touch more… singed than when he left them.

“Problem solved,” he announced smugly. Janet and Steve looked over his shoulder and saw a much-relieved Peter holding the device, which was no longer sparking, and walking back to his dorm. “You guys didn’t have to actually wait, you know.”

“It was only polite,” Steve said.

Tony grinned at him, which made Steve’s cheeks flush all over again. “So. What did you two talk about while I was gone?”

Steve looked vaguely panicked, but Janet decided to be merciful. Just this once.

“Oh, this and that. Mostly what movies Cap has seen and which ones he should watch next.”

This led into a discussion that consisted mainly of Tony listing off his favorite movies and insisting that Steve watch them, and Steve promising to do just that, and giving Janet a grateful smile when Tony wasn’t looking. They walked back to the boys’ dorms, and after Steve assured Tony that they could marathon the James Bond movies someday, the time had come to part ways.

“Thanks for the tour,” Steve grinned. “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

“ _Annie!”_ Tony snapped his fingers. “You have to watch Annie, too. The 1982 version.”

Steve laughed. “I’ll add it to the list.”

“What are you doing tomorrow, Cap?” asked Janet. “We could set up a movie night.”

Steve gave a sheepish smile. “Fury wanted me to go over the training regimes for the students as soon as possible…”

Tony shrugged. “That’s fine. I’m busy, too. Got to put the finishing touches on my hot tub.”

Janet rolled her eyes, but Steve frowned, clearly puzzled.

“What’s a… ‘hot tub’?”

Tony gave him a look. “Like a… A pool, sort of, mixed with a sauna? You sit in hot water and bubbles and it’s awesome. It’s gonna be on the top of my Tower.”

Steve nodded, though Jan doubted he understood the concept from Tony’s explanation alone. “Okay. Well, let me know when it’s finished. That sounds swell.”

Tony smirked. “You wanna private test run with me, Cap?” he teased.

But Steve only smirked back, to both Tony and Jan’s utter surprise. “I would, actually.”

Tony gaped, completely thrown off. Jan was in a similar state, though a part of her was actually quite proud of Steve.

Steve stepped closer and raised his hand towards Tony. When the genius did little more than flinch, he brought it up to his face and used his thumb to swipe at his cheek, taking away that stain of grease that Tony probably hadn’t even noticed from earlier. Tony’s face exploded red, turning nearly the same shade as his jacket, as he stared dazedly at the blond.

“Let me know, alright?” Steve said again, and then he _winked,_ just before turning around and entering the dorms.

Janet and Tony stood outside for a few seconds.

“Oh my god.”

“Tony.”

“Oh. My. _God.”_

“Captain America just made a pass at you,” Janet all but squealed. “Tony!”

He jerked up, looking at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“ _Captain America_ just made a _pass_ at you!”

“Holy _shit!”_

“Do you know what this means?!”

Tony stared helplessly at her. “That my dad is probably rolling in his grave right now?”

“No! Well, yes, that, but also!” She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him excitedly. “You’re one step closer to your childhood dream!”

“My what?”

“You could _marry_ Captain America!”

“ _Jan!”_

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Steve might be a tiny bit nicer/more understanding than AvAc Steve... huh.
> 
> But anyway, I can sum up my headcanon for Janet and Steve’s relationship in a Parks and Rec quote:
> 
> Janet: Tony, those pants look great!  
> Tony: Right? Thanks!  
> Janet: I bet they’d look even better on Steve’s floor!  
> Steve: ... Are you hitting on Tony… for me?


	5. Brian Falsworth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t actually have Brian. I missed his event ‘cause I installed the game too late. 
> 
> :(

* * *

 

 

The fascination with Captain America hadn’t _really_ died down since Steve came to the Academy, although the students became less and less likely to mob him outside of class as time went on. Of course, just when things were started to get relatively normal at Avengers Academy (which wasn’t saying much; superhero school and all), they got word from Fury that there was to be another new student.

He was another exchange guy, but instead of hailing from Asgard or outer space, he was from good old England. Brian Falsworth, a.k.a. Union Jack. Some kind of British spy that Fury wanted in their ranks for whatever reason. Natasha had been upset about it for all of five minutes before she decided to prove that she was the better spy, and had since run off to prepare for a ‘spy battle’, or whatever. Janet had given her a kiss for luck, then went off to meet Tony at the front gate and do their ‘Welcome Wagon’ duty.

Honestly, she was going to make them matching t-shirts.

When she got there, she saw Tony already chatting with Brian, the former being very animated, and the latter looking intrigued. She bounded up to them, all bright smiles and energy.

“Oh, Jan, there you are!” Tony grinned at her and turned back to Brian. “Brian, this is Janet van Dyne, the other super awesome superhero at this school, aside from me.”

“Hi there!” Jan chirped.

“Good to meet you,” greeted Brian, his accent already _doing_ things to Jan, and if she weren’t already in a committed relationship, she’d have asked him out on the spot. As it was, though, she only shook his hand and nodded.

“Ready to get going?” She gestured towards the school.

“Love to,” responded Brian. “Tony here was just telling me about some of your other students. You lot really have Captain America?”

“Yup. Steve’s a real sweetie, though I wouldn’t try and interrupt his work-outs, okay?”

Brian laughed. “Duly noted, love. Sounds a bit like our Captain Britain, to be honest.”

“You guys have a Captain Britain?” Janet blinked.

“Yeah. Who knows, you might be able to meet him. He seemed pretty intrigued when I mentioned your school.”

“The more the merrier, right?” shrugged Tony. Brian smirked at him.

“Don’t want it to get _too_ crowded, now, do we?”

“Only if you’re afraid of competition,” he smirked right back. Brian let out another laugh, and Janet was feeling pretty good about this tour already.

 

* * *

 

Alright, so Steve might have been the best tour-receiver they’d ever had, but Brian was definitely up there as the second. He was also gaining something of a fan following, despite being on campus for only a few hours. A crowd of girls had started to follow them around the tour, and they’d only gotten bigger when it was drawing to a close.

“Does that really just happen to people?” Tony asked, pointing to the fangirls. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for that to happen to me, and now it’s only because of Mr. Tall-British-and-Handsome over here.”

“You really think I’m tall?” joked Brian. “But, nah, it usually dies down after a while.”

“You’re not tempted?” asked Janet. She peered at the crowd and saw, to her surprise, Amora among the girls. She might have to warn Brian about her.

“Not in the slightest.” Brian leaned in, beckoning for them to do the same. “See loves, I’m gay.”

“Ooh. Well, that kinda sucks for them,” said Tony.

Brian shrugged, in a ‘what can you do?’ sort of way. “I’m not too worried. This seems like a pretty open-minded campus to me.”

“It is,” Janet nodded. “I have a girlfriend, Natasha. She’s actually a spy, too. Been dying to meet you.”

“You’ll have to introduce us, then. And you?” Brian turned to Tony, his gaze assessing. “Got a special somebody?”

Tony, despite his best efforts, blushed, and Janet knew exactly who he was thinking of. “Not really.”

Brian’s smile grew wider. “Oh, lovely. Then, it’s not presumptuous for me to ask you out for a coffee, is it?”

Tony blinked, and Janet nearly squeaked, but a certain blond American hero happened to pop up out of nowhere and make himself known.

“Hey guys,” Steve waved. Tony startled.

“Steve!” he and Janet said at the same time.

Brian squinted curiously at the newcomer. “Steve? Like, ‘Captain America’ Steve?”

“That’s me. You must be Union Jack.” Steve held out his hand to Brian, who shook it with a calm smile.

“Just Brian is fine. Heard a lot about you, Captain.”

“Likewise.” Steve put his hand back by his side and looked at the three of them, and then the crowd of curious fangirls in the background. “Was I… interrupting something?”

Tony had said, “No, no,” at the same time Brian said, “Kind of,” so Steve was still a little confused.

“Brian just asked Tony out,” Janet supplied helpfully, earning a glare from her best friend. But hey, sue her, she liked a little drama every now and again.

Steve had gone rigid, looking carefully at Brian, like he was assessing an enemy. “Oh?” he asked, carefully.

Brian tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed suspiciously at Steve’s change in behavior. “Yeah. You have a problem with that, mate?”

“… No,” Steve said, but he might as well have gritted it out between his teeth, for all that it convinced anyone. He turned his gaze on Tony, who jolted. “Tony?” he asked, his voice much softer. He looked like a kicked puppy, Janet thought privately.

“I, uh…” Tony laughed nervously. Brian was looking at him too, obviously expecting an answer. “I’m, well, really flattered, Brian, but, uh…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m sort of… into somebody else right now?”

Brian raised an eyebrow, then looked from Tony to Steve (who looked just as surprised as Brian did) and back again, until he locked eyes with Janet. She nodded towards Steve and understanding dawned on the Brit’s face.

“Ah.” He broke out into another grin as he clapped Tony on the back. “No worries, mate! Best of luck with that!”

Tony practically crumpled to the floor with relief. “T-Thanks.”

“What about you, Captain?” Brian asked. “Up for a cup of coffee? Or do you have somebody you fancy, too?”

Steve shuffled uncomfortably. “I… I have someone in mind,” he admitted, glancing quickly at Tony, who was dumbfounded.

Janet was torn between rolling her eyes at their stupidity, or high-fiving Brian for catching on so quickly.

“You know what?” she said instead. “I just remembered. Tony, you promised Steve a test run of the hot tub!”

Startled, Tony and Steve snapped out of their trances and glanced at her.

“It’s done?” Steve asked him quietly.

“Yeah,” Tony replied at an equal volume.

“Well?” Jan shooed them both away with her hands. “Go! Don’t wait around for us!”

That seemed to kick Tony into action, and with a few more mumbled words, he and Steve were off towards Stark Tower, standing so close together their hands brushed as they walked.

Janet and Brian saw them off, as well as the crowd of fangirls (many of whom had cooed in appreciation at Steve and Tony’s display; Amora mainly looked annoyed). Brian put his hands on his hips and nodded.

“I don’t really understand what just happened, but I feel like we just did something good.”

“Oh, trust me, we did. I was getting ready to lock them in a supply closet or something.” She shared a grin with Brian. “Anything I can do to thank you for it?”

“Well, wasn’t like I planned it or anything,” Brian demurred. “But, ah, if you’re offering…” He grabbed Janet’s shoulders and turned her around, so that they were both facing Club A. Currently, the club was mostly empty, save for Sam shooting pool with Kamala sitting on the table, and Loki dancing quite happily all by himself on the dancefloor.

“Don’t suppose you could introduce me to that gent with the green coat?” Brian asked, a little shyly.

Janet beamed back at him. “Brian? It would be my absolute pleasure.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one last chapter to go, guys!


	6. +1 Thor

* * *

 

 

Tony was late. And not like, Tony-late, where he was anywhere from five minutes to a half-hour late, but like, actually _late._ Thor was due any moment, and Odin had grown used to seeing both Janet and Tony there to greet new students; there might be some disappointment if Tony didn’t show.

Janet chewed on her bottom lip, a habit she should have grown out of years ago, but Tony seemed to keep bringing it back in her. She whipped out her phone and sent another few texts Tony’s way, before a shadow crossed over her, making her screen brighten to compensate. Her gaze darted up, fearful that it was Odin and Thor for a moment, but saw only the mildly concerned face of her girlfriend.

“Oh, Tasha,” she said with visible relief. “It’s just you.”

“I’m going to ignore that,” Natasha drawled, moving to secure an arm around Janet’s waist. Janet leaned into her. “Where’s Tony?”

At once, Janet groaned, and nearly threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know! I’ve texted him like, twenty times in the past ten minutes, but he’s not answering! Oh god.” Janet turned pale. “You don’t think he was kidnapped, do you? What if Madame Hydra got him? Or Red Skull? Or AIM?!”

“Jan!” Natasha barked, silencing the overexcited superheroine. “Calm down. I’m sure Tony’s fine. If he were kidnapped, we would know.”

“How do you know that?” Jan pouted.

“Well, Hydra and AIM both like to boast about their ‘accomplishments’, usually right by the Academy. And if that happened, I guarantee you and Steve would lead the assault to get Tony back.”

Janet sniffed. “Okay, fair enough. But then where is he?”

Just then, Janet’s cell began blaring Tony’s ringtone, and she scrambled to answer, all but slapping the phone to her face. It made Natasha almost giggle. Almost.

“Tony?!” she shouted into the phone. “God, where are you right now?! Thor’s gonna be here any minute! Are you in trouble? You’re not kidnapped, right? Tasha said I would know if you got kidnapped but I just wanna be sure - !”

“Jan, please, calm down, I’m fine,” came Tony’s voice, though it sounded a little embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, I forgot all about Thor, it’s just - !”

Janet _screeched._ “You _forgot?_ Tony, we’ve been talking about this all week! We were gonna make Thor and Steve arm wrestle! We were gonna make Loki and Thor interact and then make memes from the results! How could you forget? Where are you right now?!” Natasha was watching her, somewhat concerned now, but Janet didn’t care.

There was a pause, and then a soft mumble from the other end.

“What? I can’t hear you, Tony.”

“I… I’m on a date.”

“A… date.”

“Yeah.”

“I swear to god, Tony, if this date is with _anybody_ but Steve, I’m gonna kick your - !”

“Janet?” A new voice came from the phone, halting Janet’s threat. He sounded embarrassed, too. “It’s, uh, me. Steve.”

Janet blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. Uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you and Tony had a Welcome Wagon thing planned. I just, I’ve been trying to take Tony to a baseball game _forever,_ and one finally came up, and I asked him, he said yes, he must have forgotten too, _pleasedon’tbemadathim?_ ”

Janet opened her mouth, and then closed it, and then opened it again. It wasn’t until Natasha gently squeezed her waist that she snapped out of it.

“You guys are on a date? Like an actual, for real, there-will-be-a-kiss-at-the-end date?”

Steve paused. She could practically hear his blush. “If all goes well, hopefully.”

Janet couldn’t hold back the grin that suddenly blossom on her face. “That’s great!”

“… You’re, uh, you’re not mad?”

“No! Why would I be mad? I mean, I’m a little ticked that Tony forgot, but he can make it up to me with ice cream and shopping later! I’m just so happy for you guys!”

“Oh, good.” Steve sounded relieved, and he must have passed the phone back to Tony, because his voice came out next.

“You’re really not mad?”

“Not as mad as I was before. Now hang up and kiss that hunk of All-American Glory before I storm over there and make you.”

Tony’s laugh crackled through her speakers. “Yes ma’am! Tell Thor and Odin I said hi.”

“I will!”

Janet hung up the phone and sighed happily, leaning against Natasha, who now looked cautiously amused.

“Not kidnapped, then?”

“Nope. Just in love.”

A crash of thunder suddenly boomed across the air, and a blinding beam of light shot to the ground. Moments later, Odin and the famous Thor were on the lawn in front of the school.

Janet turned to Natasha. “Don’t suppose you wanna help me show a demigod around the school? Maybe make a meme or two?”

Natasha smirked. “Only for you, Jan.”

She kissed her girlfriend’s nose, and then let her go to let her take the lead, watching her bound up to Thor and introduce herself with her natural, infectious excitement.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was fun. :D


End file.
